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Entertainment behind the scenes
Wild child Adam Lambert sheds his family friendly “Idol” glow
“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert built a broad base of support during his run on the show this year. After all, “Idol” got to be the top-rated program on U.S. television by appealing to moms, dads, teens, doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs and everyone in between.
So when he took the stage on Sunday night at the American Music Awards and simulated oral sex with a back-up dancer, kissed a male keybordist on the mouth and gestured to the audience with his middle finger, he was bound to lose some of that broad “Idol” audience. Lambert all but said as much when he told Rolling Stone magazine that if his performance “offends (people), then maybe I’m not for them.”
But was it right for Lambert to put on such a sexually charged performance at the AMAs on network television, shortly before 11 p.m. on the East and West Coast and before 10 p.m. Central Time, when some teens and younger viewers might still have been watching the show? Does Lambert bear a special responsibility to reign in his sexual provocation, since he presumably has many young fans from his “Idol” days?
ABC on Tuesday canceled Lambert’s scheduled appearance on its “Good Morning America” as a result of his performance at the AMAs, after it received more than 1,500 complaints about his stage antics, but the singer has other TV appearances lined up.
Of course, the fact that Lambert is openly gay plays a significant role in the controversy. Last week, Aaron Hicklin, the editor-in-chief of gay magazine “Out” posted an open letter to Lambert after the singer posed for a cover shot. In the letter, Hicklin said that Lambert’s record label and management insisted that the magazine “must avoid making (Lambert) look ‘too gay’” and that they insisted he only appear on the cover in a group shot, not by himself.
Hicklin also criticized Lambert’s appearance in the magazine Details, in which he was photographed cupping the breast of a statuesque, nude female model. Hicklin suggested it would have been more radical to pose with a guy.
Lambert responded to Hicklin’s criticism by telling Entertainment Weekly magazine that Hicklin “has his agenda and has his opinions, which I respect, but they’re not necessarily my opinions” and that the editor “really crossed a line” with his criticism.
Was Lambert’s AMA performance a bid to reclaim some street cred by putting his sexuality front and center? Lambert defended it by telling Rolling Stone “there’s a double standard” in the entertainment world. “Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everyone freaks out,” he told the magazine.
Either way, the “Idol” singer has put the lie to one early criticism of his performance style. When Lambert lost to Kris Allen in the “Idol” finale in May, New York Times critic Jon Caramanica wrote that Lambert, a former musical theater performer, showed himself to be just “an old-fashioned song-and-dance man” and that “if he was hiding something, it wasn’t his sexual preference, it was his conservatism.”
No one is saying that about Lambert now. But did he go too far?
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Adam Lambert was no more aggressive than the other performers on the AMAs. In fact if anyone was to have a problem with his act during that venue they would have to have a problem with all the other entertainers who did the same things Adam did – BEFORE he got up to do his. I had no (ZERO) problems with what any of the performers did because they were doing their thing and trying to entertain us. I have no idea why people are trying to make this into something it wasn’t/isn’t. How is what Adam did anymore aggressive than Janet Jackson grabbing the crotch of her male dancer, holding onto his crotch and then pushing his head down so she is controlling his backside? She simulated butt sex with a man! Are you now also going to tell me I shouldn’t get the idea of simulating butt penetration after that? Or when that same male dancer gets on his knees in front of Janet Jackson’s crotch I shouldn’t have gotten the simulated oral sex from that? Oh sure it is fine when someone female like Janet Jackson is sexually aggressive because she is 1. a female and 2. a better known pop star but allow a new comer to do the same thing and it becomes controversy? Did no one complain when Alicia Keys who symbolically wore a silver heart necklace that hung oh so just below her “ya ya” in the crotch? Her pelvic thrusts during her song had that little heart bouncing up and down against her crotch and she felt herself up while dancing. Then Keys’s male dancer again kneeled down before Alicia Keys crotch and and simulated frontal oral sex during her routine. But again, this was okay because when he was doing this and she was starring right at him consenting it, her 4 hot female dancers leaned against a brick wall and did pelvic thrusts at the camera. Oh and of course a naked Rhianna covered in baby oil pulsating her hips on a laser operating table wasn’t suppose to be sexual at all? She can be strapped down held by the bonds of medical equipment while she undergoes laser surgery and no one complains. Rhianna can simulated sadomasochistic conduct and it is okay for her but not Adam Lambert? She can then come out and do a number in bonded strapped cat suit that shows her bottoms of her breast and because it is a white colored outfit no one calls it an S&M outfit. She was wearing a crotch strap for crying out loud. No one had a problem with her sexy S&M outfit. Nor did anyone say anything about the naked latex bodysuit with a crotch strap that Lady Gaga was wearing huh? Yes again that is displaying simulated sadomasochistic conduct but it is okay because it is Gaga and not Adam Lambert. Even though Gaga was spreading her legs wide open for her camera shots while playing piano. No one had a problem with Shakira who wore a skirt so short the cameramen were shooting crotch shots of her and her dozen aggressive female dancers all doing pelvic thrusts for 3 plus minutes. Oh and wait let’s not exclude the presenters of the evening. Kate Hudson wore a dress that was so opened and revealing in the front that her breasts were almost showing and there was no back to that dress and there is no way she could have sat down as that skirt was so short it was almost showing her crotch. It is okay for our young daughters to see a woman dressed like that because she is a star. Eniemn aggressively rapped about RAPING 17 women while aggressively grabbing his crotch and what? – no complaints??! Whitney Houston sang about being on drugs and alcohol and what no complaints??? Sweet girl next door Carrie Underwood tried singing on stilts (those shoes were so tall if she fell off she’d break an ankle) and flirted with a crowd of male dancers while wearing a skirt so short she could barely walk. Our daughters want to dress like her! The tamest of all that night was Daughtry who sang off key and had to remove his ear piece to get the rest of his set right and the first Kelly Clarkson who just stood there and sang. Yeah, that’s entertainment. Or boring Country Crooner Keith Urban who sang off key andpitchy while standing still. Let’s not forget the aggressive singing and dance routine of Jennifer Lopez who’s symbolic climb onto of the male music industry led to her fall on her ass_et. Her loose wearing boxer shorts revealed way too much of her spread legged crotch when she fell. But again the only person to have received any complaints that night after all of that was Adam Lambert? Get real?! What a double standard. If you want to roast anyone you need to start at the begining of the AMAs and work to the end. If you want an apology from Adam Lambert you’d better start asking for an apology from Janet and work your way backwards. All of these artists need to stick together and back each’s others artist expression up. Like Adam Lambert said he had no problem with what any of the artist did they were exercising their artistic expression. It is part of the song when the rappers cuss and grab their crotches. If you don’t want to watch that or hear that then don’t invite them to sing. Adam Lambert is a chameleon and not every song he sings will have lyrics like that. I’m sure Whitney Houston isn’t going to sing about doing drugs all the time. You want to hold Adam Lambert accountable for the entire night of sexually charged music and say he was the only aggresser. Review all the performances of the night and see if your perception of the evening was any different than mine and I had zero problems with any of the artist.
Excellent summary by Maggie Q, which spotlighted the other performers’ actions. Did Adam go too far? No.
He lost me with the over the top sexual exhibtions. I was a total fan on American Idol and am not a fan of any major sexual posturing of the stars I support, male or female. I was ready to buy ALL Adam Lambert’s CDs. Not now.I guess he’d rather be a marginally sucessful gay star that has turned off the older straight fans. Fine, Aloha, Adam.